MIDCOAST CHAPTER

A PUBLIC INVITATION – You are cordially invited to join us at the next meeting of the Midcoast Chapter of Maine AllCare, a growing group of Maine people interested in making health care accessible and affordable to everyone. If you live in the greater Bath – Brunswick – Topsham area you will find our meetings are always friendly, fun and informative. For more information please contact Bill Clark, Gail Eaton, or Julie Pease.

Please click on the Maine AllCare Calendar in the Menu bar for specific information about the subject, time and place for our next scheduled meeting.

PORTLAND CHAPTER

The public is invited to join members of the Portland Chapter of Maine AllCare for our regular monthly meetings to share ideas and plan joint activities in support of Universal Health Care for ALL Maine.

Please click on the Maine AllCare Calendar in the Menu bar for specific information about the subject, time and place for our next scheduled meeting. We generally meet at:

Cathedral Church of St. Luke
143 State Street, Portland ME 04101
207-772-5434

For more information about our next meeting please contact Beth Franklin or call 207-650-3177.

Report of the Midcoast Chapter, Maine AllCare

At our September 2014 meeting, we reviewed the success of our summer activity, the staffing of Maine AllCare table at the Peace Fair in Brunswick on August 3rd.

Photos from the Peace Fair:

Peace Fair Peace Fair Peace Fair
We discussed the distribution of the “Healthcare Information for Maine Voters and 5 Questions for Candidates” flyer (see home page). Chapters members will be contacting employers and organizations around the state to request dissemination of the flyer to employees and members of their organizations. Bill and Gail will continue to coordinate the effort, and have asked for feedback from our contacts.

Other relevant news & recent events:

Joe took flyer to Belfast Aug 16 (Harborfest), and Julie and Jean took it to Portland (Strangers into Neighbors: Free Health Screening Clinic, Rally and Community Celebration at Deering Oaks Aug 16).
Bill and Andy Cook attended the Maine Medical Association session on single payer. It was a good crowd at which Phil C Sen Gratwick and Rep Priest spoke. Good discussion, a lot of skepticism, mostly around “can we trust gov’t; competition and markets are good; won’t docs be disempowered?“
Escape Fire” movie presented by Access Health of Midcoast Hospital — Julie Pease and Jean Sawyer attended and note that film confirms doctor’s powerlessness and distress. We talked about physician distress about “quality” issues (getting pay docked if your patients do not meet standards), and the passivity of medical colleagues. Pay for Performance (P4P) issues are awful.
Jean Sawyer reports that recent news articles related to health care included: Docs leaving poverty areas. Vaccination rates falling off as docs do not get reimbursed, and vaccine costs going up. Dental health coverage being cut – so emergency room costs surge. Immigration politics are hot, and people are voting on it – the health issue is whether they should get Mainecare or other benefits.
Upcoming Events:

Sep 18 is the organizing meeting for “ Greater Portland AllCare Chapter”.
Common Ground Fair, Oct 19-21, Beth Franklin organizing AllCare table. (Bill and Cindy willing to help.)
Healthcare Movie showing in Rumford
Ideas for future actions:
How might we reach out to doctors in the community who are disillusioned about our healthcare system and other practice issues. Getting physicians engaged is key component of the movement. Bill is wondering about a “flyer” for docs, to be sent through the Maine medical association. A Portland doctor Dan C is thinking about getting docs to send personal letters to colleagues.

For information and membership, please contact Julie Pease at 207-449-9237.